Written by: Deng Tong, Golden Finance
On August 25, Golden Finance reported that Telegram founder Pavel Durov was detained at a French airport. In addition, French police also searched Durov's property. Sources said that the possible reason for Durov's detention was the existence of drug trafficking, gun black market and child pornography on the Telegram platform. Previously, Telegram refused to cooperate with the police.
What charges will Telegram founder Pavel Durov face? How will Telegram respond to this? Is TON still promising? What do industry insiders think about this? Golden Finance has compiled information from various sources for readers.
Related articles can be found at: "The Arrested Telegram Founder: Legendary Entrepreneurship History and His Cryptocurrency Ambitions"
1. Who is Pavel Durov?
Pavel Durov is a Russian programmer and billionaire, the founder of VKontakte and Telegram. He was a recipient of the Russian Presidential and Russian Government Scholarships during his student years, and a three-time Potanin Scholarship recipient. He was called the Russian Mark Zuckerberg by HuffPost.
In 2013, Durov created Telegram. Since 2016, he has been included in the Forbes list of the 200 richest Russians. On April 6, 2021, Forbes magazine published a new list of the world's richest people, in which he ranked 112th, with an estimated wealth of about $17.2 billion. According to the official French government gazette, Durov became a French citizen on August 25, 2021. On August 24, 2024, he was arrested by French police in France for "Telegram facilitating money laundering crimes" and detained by agents of the French National Anti-Fraud Office.
Durov became a French citizen in August 2021. He moved himself and Telegram to Dubai in 2017, and according to French media reports, he also obtained UAE citizenship. He is also a citizen of the twin Caribbean island nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
II. Details of Pavel Durov’s arrest and the charges he will face
According to French news website TF1: Durov was arrested after traveling from Azerbaijan with a woman and her bodyguard to Paris's Le Bourget airport, which specializes in servicing private jets.
It is understood the billionaire rarely travels in Europe, perhaps to avoid being detained in this way as the warrant for his arrest is only valid within France.
TF1 predicts that Durov could be indicted on Sunday on "multiple charges: terrorism, drugs, conspiracy, fraud, money laundering, receiving stolen property, pedophilia content," and possibly more.
According to preliminary investigations, Durov was the subject of a search warrant issued by OFMIN, France’s investigative agency for combating child sexual exploitation.
A source noted: "He made a mistake tonight. We don't know why... Was this flight just a layover? Whatever the case, he's locked up."
3. The foreshadowing of Telegram’s regulatory pressure
In addition, Telegram’s regulatory issues may have also laid the groundwork for the founder’s arrest.
According to French newspaper Le Monde, the Telegram platform, which is often criticized for its lack of regulation, only carries out partial and very limited bans.
Russia began blocking Telegram in 2018 after the app refused to comply with a court order allowing state security services to access its users’ encrypted messages. The move had little impact on Telegram’s availability in Russia but sparked massive protests in Moscow and drew criticism from non-governmental organizations.
“I would rather be free than take orders from anyone,” Durov told U.S. journalist Tucker Carlson in April. He left Russia to find a home for his company and has worked in Berlin, London, Singapore and San Francisco.
In a video interview by Tucker Carlson, a well-known American political commentator and journalist, with Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, Pavel Durov revealed some key information: "Whenever we come to the United States, we receive too much attention from the FBI and other security agencies. The last time I went to the United States, I brought an engineer who worked at Telegram. Cybersecurity officials or agents tried to secretly hire my engineer behind my back. They were curious about which open source libraries were integrated into Telegram's application and tried to convince him to use certain open source tools that acted as backdoors." "I have personally experienced similar pressure in the United States. Whenever I go to the United States, I am greeted by two FBI agents at the airport asking questions. My understanding is that they want to establish a relationship to better control Telegram."
Telegram's growing popularity has also sparked scrutiny over security and data breaches in several European countries, including France. In May, European Union technology regulators said they had contacted Telegram because it was close to a key usage standard that could subject it to stricter requirements under a landmark EU online content legislation.
Due to the lack of regulation, Telegram has become a refuge for many political movements that are banned on all other platforms, such as the conspiracy movement QAnon, and Hamas, which has dozens of official and unofficial accounts there. Telegram is one of Hamas' official channels. The group, called "Hamas Movement," has about 150,000 subscribers, and the channel posted a video of Hamas activists kidnapping French-Israeli hostage Mia Schem during the attack on the Nova Tribe music festival on October 7, 2023. But Telegram's moderation and supervision have not improved significantly.
Jackson Hinkle, an independent political commentator in the United States, said on X that an anti-Israel hacker had stolen billions of bytes of sensitive Israeli data and published confidential information on Telegram. Telegram rejected Israel's request to censor it. Telegram founder Pavel Durov was arrested in France and faces 20 years in prison.
According to Reuters, Telegram has influence in Russia, Ukraine and the former Soviet republics. It has become a key source of information for Russia's war in Ukraine, with officials in Moscow and Kiev using it heavily. Some analysts have called the app a "virtual battlefield" for the war.
4. TON and Telegram’s response
On August 25, TON responded to Durov’s arrest by posting on X:
TON Community Statement
Following the recent news regarding Telegram founder Pavel Durov, we want to assure everyone that the TON community remains strong and fully operational.
As a community committed to free speech and decentralization, we stand firmly with Pavel during this challenging time. Pavel has been a loyal advocate for these values, and we believe his efforts to advance an open and decentralized internet will continue to inspire millions of people.
The TON community remains focused on our mission, and we will continue to work to uphold these principles around the world. We encourage everyone to remain calm, united, and continue to build as we navigate this situation together. Thank you for your continued support.
TON community.
Subsequently, TON’s official Twitter account added the Resistance Dog logo hand-painted by Telegram’s founder in 2018 to its avatar. According to the TON Foundation, the dog in a hoodie (also known as the Resistance Dog) was originally hand-painted and named by Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram and TON, in 2018. REDO has been the (un)official mascot of Telegram’s vision of “resistance” to censorship since then.
Telegram Wallet also posted on its official channel: “We are closely following the recent news about Telegram founder Pavel Durov, but these events will not affect the operation of Wallet in any way.”
On August 25, Telegram issued its first official statement on the arrest of its CEO Pavel Durov. “It is not clear what exactly Durov has been charged with, or if he has been arrested at all. There have been various reports that he may have been arrested for a lack of management of the Telegram platform, but without official confirmation from the French government or further explanation from Telegram, the facts remain unclear. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe.”
On August 26, Telegram released a statement on the X platform in response to the CEO’s arrest:
1. Telegram complies with EU law, including the Digital Services Act - its audit meets industry standards and is constantly improving.
2. Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov is not hiding and travels frequently in Europe.
3. It is absurd to claim that a platform or platform owner should be held responsible for abuse on the platform.
4. Nearly one billion users around the world use Telegram as a means of communication and an important source of information.
5. The team is awaiting a prompt resolution to this situation.
5. What do industry insiders think of the arrest of Pavel Durov?
Edward Snowden, the whistleblower of the "Prism Gate": "The arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov is a violation of basic human rights such as freedom of expression and the right to association. I am shocked and deeply saddened that Macron has fallen to the point of taking hostages to gain access to private communications. This is a shame not only for France, but also for the whole world."
Musk commented on X that "Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, was arrested by French police" and said "this is to promote the First Amendment of the US Constitution". He also sarcastically said "It's Europe in 2030, and you were executed for liking a meme". Note: The First Amendment of the US Constitution is part of the US Bill of Rights, which guarantees citizens the freedom to express their opinions in public and political affairs. Its main contents include: freedom of speech, freedom of the press and other rights.
Afterwards, Musk released a video with the tag "FreePavel" to once again support Telegram founder Pavel Durov. In the video, Pavel Durov was interviewed and said, "Musk's acquisition of X has made speech more free. This is a great progress. Humanity needs more social media like X and Telegram that uphold freedom of speech."
American journalist Tucker Carlson posted on X platform and attached an interview with Durov in the post: Pavel Durov left Russia when the government tried to control his social media company Telegram. But in the end, it was not Putin who arrested him on the grounds of allowing the public to exercise free speech. It was a Western country, an ally of the Biden administration and an enthusiastic NATO member who locked him up. Pavel Durov sits in a French prison tonight, which is a living warning to any platform owner who refuses to censor the truth at the request of governments and intelligence agencies. Darkness is rapidly descending on this once free world.
Alex Thorn, head of research at crypto asset management firm Galaxy Digital: "My guess is they will accuse Telegram of not complying with the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which is a really bad law that holds platforms responsible for illegal user content."
Andrei Grachev, founder of DWF Labs: We can't do much, but I decided to support as much as I can. I have purchased about $500,000 worth of TON on the open market and will keep it on the chain until FREEDUROV ends.
Chris Pavlovski, founder of online video platform Rumble: "I'm a little late and here's the thing - I just left Europe safely. France has already threatened Rumble, and now they have crossed the red line and arrested Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, reportedly because he did not censor speech. Rumble will not tolerate this behavior and will use all legal means to fight for freedom of speech as a universal human right. We are currently fighting in the French courts and hope that Pavel Durov will be released immediately." It is reported that Rumble is an online video platform with web hosting and cloud service businesses, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and its US headquarters is located in Longboat Key, Florida.
6. Impact on TON Price
Due to the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov, the price of TON, which is linked to Telegram, fell by 25% at one point. However, market analysis of some technical and market factors indicates that TON may rebound sharply in the coming weeks.
A similar situation occurred on BNB. On April 30, CZ was sentenced in the United States and BNB fell 13.5%. However, when the verdict was settled, BNB rose nearly 35% from its low and hit a high of nearly $700 on June 6.
When news of legal disputes breaks, the market panics and sells as traders rush to protect their investments from potential repercussions. However, once the initial shock subsides, the market reassesses the situation more rationally, and the same psychological pattern may also appear in Toncoin.
The arrest of Pavel Durov could be seen as a major red flag, causing traders to exit their positions, leading to a sharp drop in price. But if the market later believes that the arrest was an isolated incident that does not fundamentally disrupt the Toncoin ecosystem, traders may begin to view the drop as an opportunity for panic buying.
From a technical perspective, TON is trading within a well-defined ascending channel, as shown on the daily chart.
TON/USDT daily price chart. Source: TradingView
The TON/USDT pair rebounded from the channel’s lower trendline, which has been acting as a strong support since it formed earlier this year.
Toncoin’s futures market data also suggests traders’ confidence is growing. After Durov’s arrest, TON’s open interest (OI) rose to $303.62 million, the highest level since July. Meanwhile, its eight-hour funding rate rose to a three-month high of 0.0101%.
TON OI and funding rate. Source: Coinglass
As of press time, TON is trading at $5.77, which is up from its previous low of $5.31.
French authorities are scheduled to make a statement on the detention of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov on August 26. Golden Finance will continue to pay attention to this matter.
Source: Golden Finance, Wikipedia, TF1, Telegram, Reuters, The Block, Le Monde, CoinTelegraph
